North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has inspected a facility that produces nuclear material and called for bolstering the country’s nuclear capability, state media reported Wednesday, as the North looks to increase pressure on the United States following the inauguration of U.

Kim Jong Un has inspected a facility that produces nuclear material and called for bolstering the country’s nuclear capability.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has called for bolstering nuclear forces this year during a visit to a nuclear material production base and nuclear weapons institute, state media KCNA reported on Wednesday.

The dictator, eager to shut out the influence of Hollywood and K-pop, has been exalting a “shock brigade” of 300,000 teens and 20-somethings drafted into flood reconstruction.

South Korea 's Yonhap News Agency said North Korea might be using a vertical cold-launch system to fire the missiles. The system, which is commonly associated with submarine- and ship-based weapons, ejects a missile from its container before the missile ignites midair.

North Korea says it tested a cruise missile system, its third known weapons display this year, and vowed “the toughest” response to what it called the escalation of U.S.

Kim Jong Un, who Trump lauded as a "smart guy," has become Russian President Vladimir Putin’s key ally in a war against Ukraine, providing ballistic missiles, artillery, and 12,000 troops.

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un called for bolstering nuclear forces this year during a visit to the country's nuclear material production base and nuclear weapons institute, state media KCNA said on Wednesday.

North Korea has test-fired sea-to-surface strategic cruise guided missiles, the North's state media reported Sunday, quoting Kim as saying that Pyongyang's deterrence means are being perfected.

North Korea's foreign ministry vowed the "toughest counteraction" against the United States as long as Washington "refuses" the country's sovereignty.

North Korea announced it had performed a test of its cruise missile system on Saturday. It was the communist country’s fourth known missile launch since November and the second in less than a week since President Donald Trump’s inauguration.